


Caught up in the waves

by HecticHelios



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-05-15 10:39:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 8,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HecticHelios/pseuds/HecticHelios
Summary: Dan has a second job





	1. Prologue

_They tour so much, I hope they get some rest :(_

  


_Is Dan getting sick? I hope he’s not working too hard…_

  


Dan minimised the browser window. It was sweet, yes, but something he utterly did not deserve.

  


Working too hard? Perhaps.

  


Dan pushed his chair back from his desk and then stood up. He went to his safe in the cupboard, opened it, and pulled out two notebooks, one A4, the other that could fit in his pocket.

  


He put both notebooks on the desk as he assumed his seated position once more, then he flicked open the smaller notebook.

  


‘Everybody is so… blind to this,’ he mumbled as he rifled through the pages. Scribbles lined the paper and he stopped at a page that was still somewhat neat.

  


Two columns of names listed. Dan took a pen and started to scribble some of the names on the left column out.

  


‘Shame this whole thing took off, isn’t it?’ he asked himself. On his laptop, he opened another browser window. He stared at the dark window and its blank home page for a moment before opening his emails.

  


His blue eyes flicked between the notebook and the screen as he typed in addresses to the BCC line.

  


Dan mumbled along to his typing as he wrote the email.

  


_It’s done. I expect the remaining half of the payment by noon GMT tomorrow._

  


_D_

  


Having hit the send button, Dan scribbled out the corresponding names in the right hand column.

  


His inbox blipped a notification at him and he looked up at his screen again.

  


_RE: A Job_

  


Dan opened the email, rubbing his eyes with his other hand as he did so.

  


_Need a hit on a guy in the States. Michigan. By the end of the year. Can you do it?_

  


‘Jesus Christ… some people are vague as fuck,’ he groaned.

  


Dan typed his reply.

  


_Gonna need more details than that, but yes._

  


_D_

  


Dan opened the larger notebook after hitting send. He ticked off a few pages in the top corner before opening it to a clean page.

  


He scribbled a few words in the centre of the page, and circled it all.

  


_US TOUR: FALL_


	2. Chapter 2

Dan sat in his seat and stared out the plane window. Kyle sat in the middle seat and Dick sat in the aisle.

 

Kyle was asleep. His head lulled and was rested on Dan’s shoulder.

 

The older man gave his partner a gentle kiss on the head before connecting his phone to the in-flight wifi.

 

He opened twitter and started to make another tweet about their trip to the States.

 

_Hey you lot! On the way to AMERICA!! Where will I be seeing you all? x_

 

Hitting send, he sighed. The whole tour was a rouse, and only he knew.

 

Dan had gathered a few more targets for his trip Stateside; all the time abroad for one target seemed illogical to him.

 

The finer details didn’t matter too much to Dan. He needed a name, a location, and a photo of target.

 

He did have a few self-imposed rules, however. No high profile targets - he himself was too high profile already. No kids - nobody younger than 25, he felt they could still fix their shit. Nobody in organised crime - Dan didn’t want to be starting gang wars all over the place.

 

The buzzing of Dan’s phone against the pull-down tray made Kyle stir.

 

‘Hmm… we nearly there?’ asked the dopey Kyle.

 

‘Not yet,’ replied Dan, smiling gently.

 

Dan remembered his own fears. His fears of Kyle getting hurt. Of Kyle finding out, and leaving him. Dan was in too deep to back out, and quitting his ‘first’ job would land him in even deeper shit.

 

Dan had a life now. A life he was afraid to lose. Kyle had softened the assassin’s heart, though he wouldn’t admit it out loud.


	3. Chapter 3

\- New York -

 

Two days off after the gig.

 

One day for Kyle.

 

One day for the other job, and the escape that came after.

 

‘Big Apple, ey?’ Kyle said playfully, his fingers intertwined with Dan’s as they sat in the venue green room. ‘Show tonight, couple days off, another show, et cetera, I’m not going to list the rest of the tour plan now.’

 

Dan smiled silently, not looking at Kyle. He was planning to get very drunk that night. A day to recover with Kyle, then the job in the night, and running the next day.

 

‘Dan? Are you alright?’ Kyle softened his voice after noticing the smile falling from Dan’s face, and his silence.

 

Their eyes met and Dan gave another soft smile. ‘It’s fine. Things on my mind.’

 

‘It’s not the proper Madison Square Garden, it’s fine,’ Kyle smiled.

 

Dan laughed slightly. ‘I know that, I’m not worried about that.’

 

‘You can tell me anything, you know? If you’re worried.’

 

‘… I know.’

 

— — — — —

 

Dan woke up in a sweat, his breath fast.

 

He checked the time on his phone: 5:23am.

 

‘Dan?’ called the tired voice of Dan’s partner from the other bed across the room. ‘Are you alright?’

 

‘I… I-‘

 

Dan heard Kyle climb out of his own bed and then carefully squish himself in besides Dan. The usual routine for the pair was to push the single beds together so they could be close, but Dan was far too out of it to do that when he got into the room that night, and Kyle wasn’t in much better shape; different reasons for different men, however.

 

‘You get nightmares when you drink too, too much, Smith.’ Kyle wrapped his limbs around the frame of Dan, giving his older partner a full body bear hug. ‘Tell me what’s up, you’ve been off recently.’

 

‘Is it a cop-out if I say “soon”?’

 

The pair both laughed quietly as Dan began to reciprocate Kyle’s physical affection.

 

— — — — —

 

The boys spent their day doing typical tourist things. With Kyle having got back into photography, he insisted that Dan ‘model’ in front of some of the places they went.

 

‘You are NEVER posting that one, anywhere!’ Dan said, grinning awkwardly as he pulled away from looking at Kyle’s camera, and the photo of him trying - and failing - to pose like an intimidating Greek warrior statue in front of the MET.

 

‘So you want me to keep it in my private collection?’ Kyle winked. Dan’s face quickly flushed red.

 

Dan’s embarrassment faded fast. His phone buzzed and he casually opened the email.

 

The time and place of his New York hit were enclosed within, and Dan bit his tongue slightly.

 

‘Dan?’

 

Kyle’s voice speaking his name in that concerned tone had become such a common thing in the past few days. Dan hated it, hated the concern he made Kyle feel.

 

‘Text from a family member, heard we were around, wanting to meet,’ Dan said, saving himself quickly as he deleted the email. ‘Might not be the best idea for you to tag along, though. He’s a bit…’

 

Kyle nodded in acknowledgement. ‘I know. It’s fine.’

 

‘Doesn’t stop us staying together now though, huh?’ Dan said. He flung his arms around Kyle’s shoulders and buried his head into the crook of the taller man’s neck. Kyle wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist and lifted him up some, spinning as he did.

 

‘Love you,’ Kyle said softly into Dan’s ear before setting him back down.


	4. Chapter 4

Dan and Kyle went their separate ways at around midnight. Kyle went back to the hotel room to sleep before their travelling the next morning, and Dan went to his other job.

 

It wasn’t hard to find the hit. Dan’s target was around the same age as him, but scruffier, more beat up. It was the prosthetic forearm that gave him away, and Dan felt sympathy for a moment before watching the target remove the hand and attach a blade to the end.

 

Dan had his own blade up his sleeve, literally. It had been strapped to his arm all day beneath his hoodie. He didn’t smoke often but he lit a cigarette to try to ease himself and his nerves.

 

He could hear the other man walk over and Dan did his best to suppress his anxiety.

 

‘Can I borrow your lighter?’ came the voice of the New Yorker, half mumbling with the roll-up in his mouth.

 

‘Uh, yeah, sure,’ Dan said, handing it to the other man. He didn’t see an issue since he knew only one of them would see the morning.

 

The American lit his cigarette and tossed the lighter back at Dan before wandering a few paces away. His back was turned to Dan, not seeing the Brit as a threat.

 

Dan glanced at his feet, quickly checking the shoes he was in. He tossed his cigarette to the floor and extinguished it before rolling up his sleeves.

 

The blade glinted as the streetlights hit steel as Dan unsheathed it. It wasn’t a large thing, the blade about 3 inches long, but it did what Dan needed it to do.

 

He stepped carefully behind the America and held his breath. Dan took a few moments to consider where to plant the knife.

 

Dan steadied himself and made to bury the knife into the other man’s neck.

 

He wasn’t sure what gave him away but the America spun out of the way.

 

‘What the-‘ Dan mumbled, annoyed that he’d missed something.

 

‘I saw you in the car window, buddy,’ spat the America. ‘C’mon, do I look like someone who doesn’t keep his eye out all the time?’

 

Knife met knife as the American lunged for the Brit. Dan mentally cursed his recent slacking in his fitness post-marathon when the other man’s larger blade nicked his right forearm.

 

The second Dan took to consider his injury was a second too long, and the other man slammed Dan against a wall by the neck.

 

‘Gimme your wallet and your phone and you walk outta here alive, pal,’ threatened the New Yorker.

 

Despite his position, Dan scoffed. ‘Trust me… You’re not the one who’ll be walking away from this.’

 

Dan’s target took offence to this threat and jammed his knife arm into Dan’s left shoulder, his hand still firmly around Dan’s neck. ‘You can still walk away from this.’

 

Dan laughed, pain mixed into the laugh. He’d seen it before: targets get cocky and forget their vulnerabilities. ‘You can’t.’

 

The Brit drove his knife into the American’s neck, twisted it some, then yanked it back out.

 

As the New Yorker staggered back a few paces, his prothetic detached from the blade, leaving it implanted in Dan.

 

‘Hey… Just one last thing,’ Dan said, remembering his client’s little request. ‘Davey says hi.’

 

His hit recognised the name and his eyes went wide before he started choking.

 

Dan looked at the blade in his shoulder, and the blood around it, then to the floor around him. His hoodie and shirt had absorbed a lot of his own blood and he didn’t see any blood on the ground that was clearly his. Content with a finished job, he walked away from the dying man, adrenaline keeping him from feeling much.

 

— — — — —

 

Kyle had stayed up for Dan. A single bedside light remained on as he read his book.

 

When Dan came crashing through the door, it was around 2 in the morning. Dan fumbled to shut the door, then slid down to the floor against it.

 

‘How much have you drunk, Smith?’ Kyle asked, leaping out of bed to help his lover.

 

‘I…’

 

It took Kyle turning on the main light for him to see the damage on Dan. ‘Fucking hell, Dan?!’

 

‘I… think I hurt my shoulder blade,’ quipped Dan. ‘Help me up.’

 

‘Tell me what the fuck happened, Dan!’

 

Dan gave a half-hearted shrug. ‘Shit happened.’

 

‘Dan!!’

 

‘I got stabbed! What does it look like?’

 

‘Why didn’t you go to hospital or something?’ Kyle asked, pulling Dan to his feet.

 

‘Don’t feel like getting arrested, but thanks love.’

 

Kyle froze for a moment. ‘What? Why would you-‘

 

‘Forget I said anything. Can you get the first aid kit from my backpack?’

 

‘I should be calling an ambulance!’ Kyle retorted, concern in his voice.

 

‘Just get me the bloody first aid kit!’ Dan snipped at Kyle, voice raised, but not too loud to wake others around them in the hotel.

 

Kyle stood frozen in place as Dan stumbled into the bathroom. Dan never raised his voice like that before at Kyle.

 

The older man was sat in the bathtub when Kyle sheepishly came in with the first aid kit.

 

Dan looked up at Kyle. ‘I… I didn’t mean to snap. I just can’t go to the hospital, I need to deal with this myself. I know what I’m doing, it’s fine.’

 

Kyle handed the first aid kit to Dan without a word, still not really knowing what to say or do. He just watched with worry as Dan pulled the knife from himself and cried out as he did so.

 

Blood began pouring anew and Kyle instinctively grabbed a towel to stem the bleeding.

 

‘… Thank you,’ Dan said softly to Kyle. He put the knife to the side and began to peel the blood-soaked clothing from himself. Kyle helped when he could, but made sure to keep one hand on the towel pressed against Dan.

 

They sat motionless and silent for a few moments, Dan’s chest covered in his own blood.

 

‘… Am I still bleeding?’ Dan asked, awkwardly trying to look at his own wound.

 

‘Mostly?’ Kyle guessed.

 

‘You wanna bandage it up for me?’

 

‘… uh…’

 

‘The alternative is you stitch me up with floss.’

 

‘Yeah, uh, bandages.’

 

Dan took over towel holding duty from Kyle as the younger man scrabbled to retrieve the things he needed to patch up Dan.

 

Kyle’s hands were gentle and careful but methodical, guided by Dan’s all-too-calm voice.

 

‘You’ve done this before,’ Kyle muttered, his eye not meeting Dan’s.

 

‘… Yeah.’

 

Kyle leant back, having finished bandaging Dan’s wound. ‘We need to talk, you know this.’

 

‘… Yeah. I know.’

 

‘You need a shower first.’ Kyle leant forward and kissed Dan gently on the nose.


	5. Chapter 5

Exhaustion took a hold of Kyle, and he was asleep by the time Dan had cleaned himself up.

 

The older man lay awake in his bed, listening to Kyle’s deep breathing, his gentle snoring. He lay there for a short while before feeling desperately lonely, and he shifted his bed next to Kyle’s, into the faux-double bed that was a common scene for the pair.

 

The movement made Kyle stir, and when Dan climbed back into bed, Kyle instinctively wrapped his arms around Dan.

 

Dan relaxed somewhat at the feeling of Kyle’s facial hair against the crook of his neck. Anxieties still tormented him, and his mind couldn’t slow.

 

Once again, Kyle was the grounding point for Dan.

 

— — — — —

 

When Dick came knocking on the boys’ door in the morning, Dan had barely slept.

 

‘Give us 20 minutes?’ Kyle said quietly to their tour manager before shutting the door.

 

‘… Go time?’ Dan asked, weary.

 

Kyle nodded. ‘Go time. Get yourself dressed, get a coffee, I’ll finish your packing.’ He tapped his fingers on the desk to draw Dan’s attention to the coffee Kyle had made for him.

 

‘… Thank you.’

 

Dan slid out of bed and changed his clothes quickly, laying his pyjamas on the bed for Kyle to pack. He didn’t know how to talk to Kyle, not after what happened only hours earlier.

 

He gritted his teeth when he moved his arm, pain surging through him. Dan downed painkillers with his coffee and hoped they would tide him over.

 

— — — — —

 

8am, and Dan had his head rested on Kyle’s shoulder as they sat in the airport, waiting for their gate to show on the screen.

 

Dan’s stomach turned when the news came on, and the report of the man he’d murdered the night before had flashed up. It was less the being discovered, Dan had long since pushed that fear out of him, it was the fear that something would happen to Kyle, or that Kyle would betray him.

 

‘You’ll be fine,’ Kyle mumbled into Dan’s ear before kissing him on the cheek. Kyle had helped to get rid of the evidence before they came to the airport, washing the blood from Dan’s clothes and the towel then packing them up, still damp, to travel with them, and throwing the blades down drains. Dan would have preferred to burn the lot of it, but he didn’t have the time that he usually did.

 

They still hadn’t talked properly about the events of the night before, about Dan’s other job.

 

‘Kyle, I-‘

 

‘We’ll talk later, Dan.’

 

It wasn’t anger in Kyle’s voice, despite Dan worrying that the other would be feeling that. Instead, it was concern, it was worry.

 

A comfort settled in Dan’s chest: it was the knowledge that Kyle cared for him, regardless.


	6. Chapter 6

Dan only ever had one nightmare. One, recurring nightmare.

 

He would always be face-to-face with the man who got him stuck in the situation he was in. He would always bear the brunt of the other man’s anger. He would always, helplessly, watch Kyle be killed.

 

Dan jolted awake on the plane, breathing ragged.

 

‘Hey… are you alright?’

 

His breathing calmed immediately hearing Kyle’s voice, and feeling Kyle’s hand on his own.

 

‘… Am now.’

 

Dan rested his head on Kyle’s shoulder as he put his other hand on Kyle’s, sandwiching the younger man’s hands between both of his.

 

— — — — —

 

The venue had its fair share of backstage rooms and Dan made it clear that he needed one to talk to Kyle in.

 

‘Yeah, “talk to Kyle”, we understand,’ joked Woody before lightly punching Dan on the arm and wandering off to explore.

 

Will winked at the pair and mouthed a ‘good luck’ before following Woody.

 

Charlie pulled a face and set himself up in another room to record his own music, making sure he wasn’t adjacent to the pair of lovers, just in case.

 

‘Wow,’ mumbled Kyle.

 

‘At least they won’t interrupt us?’ Dan said as he took Kyle’s hand. ‘C’mon. It’s story time.’


	7. Chapter 7

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, or can’t, or whatever.’

 

Dan screwed up his face as he listened to Kyle.

 

‘I mean… You have a right to know. You should know. ‘Cause you’re gonna be in the middle of it if it all cocks up.’

 

Kyle raised his eyebrow. ‘Huh?’

 

‘These people don’t fuck around, Kyle!’ Dan raised his voice.

 

Dan sighed and relaxed himself.

 

‘I- I barely remember it now. I’ve blocked it out. I got caught up in a stupid drug dealing chain, as a stupid, stupid kid. I killed someone at age 19 over a bag of weed.’

 

Kyle stayed silent, just watching his partner pour out all these secrets and burdens.

 

‘Then, the boss, I guess, decided I had a debt to pay since he got me out scot-free. And… in my head I was just dealing with the worst types of druggy bellends and doing the world a favour. I didn’t realise consider that I was just cleaning up for the big guy. One thing led to another and I ended up… enjoying it. I didn’t feel anything unless I was on the job. At least for a time. I’m… I’m what one would call “freelance” now, I guess, but I still have these… unfortunate ties to the man who got me into this mess.’

 

Kyle still hadn’t said a word, instead choosing to watch his lover pour out his heart.

 

‘This whole thing blew up with Pompeii and I said to myself “I don’t need the money from killing people anymore” but he came and called me and threatened me, and you, by god he knew about the pair of us somehow. Time went on and I just dealt with it but the more time passed, the more I wanted to bail and to make sure you, the reason I stopped feeling so damn numb, are safe!’

 

Dan didn’t realise he was crying until Kyle stepped closer, lifted his glasses, and wiped the tears off him. Kyle replaced Dan’s glasses before kissing him gently on the forehead.

 

‘I… I guess my first instinctive reply is “kill him back” but I reckon you’ve had that thought yourself already, huh?’ Kyle proposed softly.

 

Dan nodded. ‘More than once.’

 

Kyle took Dan’s hands in both of his own. ‘You’re scared.’

 

‘Beyond words. I just want you safe.’

 

‘That… goes both ways. Surely your debt to this guy is paid. Just… stop?’

 

‘Perhaps. But I still have one more job to do while over here and it’ll be worse if I don’t do it.’

 

Kyle frowned. Inside, his brain was going a mile a minute and he wanted to protest, but - if those mafia movies he watched were accurate in any way - Kyle knew it would be safer for himself and his lover to just finish the job. One last job.

 

‘We’ll get you out of this.’

 

‘Y- You’re not… You’re not leaving me? Even though you know you could be in danger?’

 

‘Of course I won’t leave you. I love you, you dumbass.’


	8. Chapter 8

Dan didn’t make it through soundcheck before his wound opened up again. Kyle could tell right away that something was wrong when the singer was more distracted than usual. He left his position behind the keys to join the older man.

 

Woody groaned, only half-sarcastically. ‘Can you two lovers not contain yourselves for a single soundcheck now?’

 

Dan gritted his teeth and Kyle scowled slightly.

 

‘I-...’ Dan began to retort. He gritted his teeth again and leant on Kyle. ‘I just need a few minutes.’

 

‘Making out mid-sound check now?’

 

_‘Shut the fuck up, Woods.’_

 

The ferocity in Kyle’s voice startled everyone silent, even Dan was taken aback.

 

‘... I’ll sort myself out, don’t worry,’ Dan murmured. He staggered off, one hand pressing down on the dressing as blood began to soak through his pastel shirt.

 

Will watched the singer go and then approached Kyle. ‘Was... was he bleeding?’ Will asked in a hushed tone, concerned.

 

Kyle said nothing, simply watching the space the other man had just left.

 

Woody had climbed out from behind his drum kit and joined his band members. ‘Hey, listen, I’m sorry, Kyle. What’s going on with him?’

 

‘Are either of you any good at sewing?’ Kyle half-joked in an attempt to make himself feel better.

 

— — — — —

 

‘You’re being stupid, Dan,’ Kyle said as he sat across from his lover. Dan was preparing to stitch himself up against the protests of Kyle.

 

‘What else can I do, Kyle?’ Dan mumbled as he held tooth floss between his teeth while fiddling with a needle in his hands.

 

‘Go to hospital? Like a _normal_ person?’

 

‘Expensive.’

 

‘We have insurance!’

 

‘Police ask questions.’

 

‘Just... can’t you use those sticky fake stitches?’ Kyle proposed, really not wanting to see Dan stab himself with a needle and no anaesthetic.

 

Having threaded the needle, Dan looked at Kyle and smiled sadly. ‘Relax. I’ve done it before. Granted, it was an easier place to reach... Can you get me some whiskey?’

 

‘I’m getting Dick and Erica.’

 

‘Don’t you fucking dare!’

 

— — — — —

 

‘I fucking hate you,’ huffed Dan to Kyle as they sat in the emergency room in the hospital, accompanied by their exasperated tour manager.

 

They had made up a story about Dan getting mugged and him not wanting to cause trouble with cancelling any shows or missing any flights, which went down surprisingly well.

 

‘Nahh, you don’t,’ replied Kyle, his fingers intertwined with Dan’s.

 

‘I’m cold.’ Dan was sat with his shirt around his arms, his chest bare and a rudimentary dressing on his wound.

 

‘Why didn’t you go to the hospital in the first place?’ asked their tour manager, an eyebrow raised. Dan felt like he was being scolded by his father.

 

He shrugged slightly. ‘Figured I could deal with it the same way I dealt with glass in my foot.’

 

Dick sighed. ‘Right. Are you sure you’ll still up to perform tonight?’

 

‘Yeah, duh.’

 

‘Fine. Get you stitched up and then back to the venue. But you’re not going out alone anymore, not after this, yeah?’

 

Dan opened his mouth to protest but Kyle just laughed.

 

‘Guess you’re grounded, Danny.’


	9. Chapter 9

‘It feels like you’re my bodyguard,’ grumbled Dan. ‘Or that I’m a child again.’

 

‘Dunno. You certainly act like a child,’ joked Kyle. ‘Look, we’re even holding hands.’

 

‘Oh... shut up.’

 

The idea of not having his freedom to roam alone didn’t sit well with Dan, especially considering he still had a hit to carry out.

 

‘Complaining won’t get you anywhere,’ chimed in the band’s tour manager. 

 

‘We don’t want _wickle little Daniel_ to get lost,’ teased Kyle - bold move for anyone who wasn’t the assassin’s lover.

 

Dan stuck his tongue out at Kyle. ‘Fuck off.’ He got closer to Kyle. ‘How am I gonna do my other job?’ he whispered into the other man’s ear.

 

‘... We’ll talk later, ok?’ Kyle replied, equally quietly.

 

— — — — —

 

The show went without a hitch, but Dan couldn’t help but feel down.

 

‘You saw how disappointed they were when I didn’t do the Flaws walk, Kyle,’ Dan grumbled.

 

‘But... you saw how they reacted when you said it was ‘cause you hurt yourself, so...’

 

‘...’

 

‘You’re being too harsh on yourself, love.’ Kyle leant over and kissed Dan on the cheek. Sat in the tour bus, everyone else was asleep as the lovers sat in the back area together.

 

‘Kyle, how the hell am I gonna pull this off with everyone’s eyes on me now?’ Dan groaned, visibly stressed in the low light.

 

‘We have a few days. I... don’t particularly want to get too involved in this business but if you were to sneak off while I’m meant to be watching you, well, sorry Dick, I left him for a minute...’

 

Dan laughed softly. ‘Alright. We’ll play the lovers card if we need to.’


	10. Chapter 10

Dan didn’t sleep that night. He sat alone in the common area at the back of the bus, replying to messages from friends and tweets from fans. 

 

Come morning, Dan was laying on his side on the sofa, knees to his chest, phone in his hands, hands almost covered by his sweater sleeves. 

 

It had been a long time since he’d felt this stressed, especially over a job. He was mentally weighing up which would be worse: failing the job or quitting. He decided it would be somewhere between the two.

 

Dan adjusted his position awkwardly. Pain shot up from his wound and he cried out instinctively. 

 

Moments later, the familiar face of Kyle appeared, armed with coffee in one hand and Dan’s painkillers in the other.

 

‘The coffee was Charlie’s,’ Kyle explained as he put the mug down on the table. ‘He figured you could use it more urgently... so it might be stronger than your usual. Did you even sleep?’

 

‘You’re mothering me again, Kyle,’ mumbled Dan, sitting up slowly.

 

‘You’re not gonna let anyone else mother you, are you, master killer Daniel Smith?’

 

‘Shut up...’

 

Kyle offered the painkillers to Dan and the older man graciously accepted. He popped a tablet and down it with the coffee.

 

‘Oh fuck, yeah, you were right about the coffee being stronger.’

 

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the only noise coming from Dan taking sips of the coffee.

 

— — — — —

 

‘You’re anxious.’

 

Dan turned to face Kyle as they walked along the street, trailing behind the rest of the group. ‘What? No.’

 

‘You are. You’re acting the same way you did before we played Pyramid Stage.’

 

He didn’t deny it further. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had this many eyes on me when I’ve had a job.’

 

‘Seriously, can’t you just... refund them? They can’t kill you, clearly, since they need you to kill, they can’t kill themselves.’

 

Dan scrunched his face up. ‘I told you. The dickhead who got me into this mess still has eyes on me. Besides... he’s got connections to this client, which makes it suck more.’

 

‘But you’re hurt.’

 

‘And? I’ve dealt with worse, _alone_.’

 

Kyle sighed. ‘What are you _not getting_ , Daniel?’ he hissed under his breath in Dan’s ear.

 

‘What?’ Dan said, somewhat startled.

 

‘Haven’t you killed enough people? You said yourself, you’re numb to it. That’s not normal. And I can’t stand by and watch you nearly be killed yourself. Stop... stop brushing off every suggestion I have! I’m _trying_ to _help_ you!’

 

Dan stopped walked. He dropped Kyle’s hand. ‘I-... I said you could leave me if you wanted. You know that.’

 

Kyle had paused a few steps ahead and he turned to face his lover, a sadness in his eyes, his anger softened. ‘... I’m sorry, I’m... just as stressed as you, I think. Please though, Dan. Try something. _Anything_.’

 

The assassin sighed. ‘Okay. I’ll try. I promise.’


	11. Chapter 11

They lay beside each other in their shared hotel bed, Kyle sleeping shirtless.

 

Dan stared up at the ceiling in the half-light. ‘Hey, Kyle.’

 

‘Mmm?’ came the weary Kyle’s reply.

 

‘You ever think about just... giving all this up?’

 

‘Sometimes.’

 

‘Disappear into the countryside. Live like a  _normal_   person.’

 

‘Dan, you’re a city boy, you’d be useless in a field,’ Kyle said, smirking slightly to himself.

 

‘Just you and me, in a quiet village. Maybe get a dog.’ Dan continued, all but ignoring Kyle. ‘God, I could grow my hair out again in peace. Maybe even dye it. People wouldn’t scream at me for it.’

 

‘Where’s this come from, Smith?’ Kyle asked as he propped himself up onto one shoulder.

 

Dan rubbed his face and sighed. ‘Would it be cliché to quote my own song?’ was Dan’s reply. ‘“Do you wanna be free of this?” Hah... Sometimes. One part of this in particular though.’

 

Kyle planted a gentle kiss on Dan’s cheek. ‘We’ll figure this out. I promise.’ He flopped back down again, resting his head on Dan’s chest.

 

‘I... I am so scared of losing you, Kyle.’


	12. Chapter 12

‘ _Hindsight is 20/20,_ ’  thought Kyle over and over and over as he watched Dan lay waste to shot after shot at the bar, the look of disgust on the assassin’s face fading more with each drink.

 

As the band and crew’s arrival in Michigan drew nearer, Dan was drinking recklessly. Kyle realised he’d seen the pattern before, but in the past had put it down to the nerves of playing foreign countries. He realised at that moment that it was in fact Dan’s way of numbing himself before a job he didn’t want to do.

 

‘Dan, we still have to play Columbus tomorrow, slow down,’ Kyle said to Dan, his concern audible.

 

The older man hesitated for a moment, suddenly aware of how much he’d drunk, and of all the eyes of his crew mates on him.

 

‘I...’

 

‘C’mon.’ Kyle gently pried Dan’s hand away from the shot glass that he was about to shot. ‘Bed.’

 

As Kyle began to gently guide his partner away, he glanced back at the rest of the crew. While of them had gone back to their drinks, but Dick just gave Kyle a slow nod and a sad smile. Kyle nodded back before leaving with the unfortunately inebriated Dan.

 

— — — — —

 

They were alone in the bus. Kyle made sure of that before he began to speak to Dan.

 

‘You’re an idiot, aren’t you?’ Kyle said, his voice a mix of sadness and anger and concern.

 

‘I see that every day on Twitter, Kyle, I don’t need it from you too.’

 

‘But I’m not joking about it, Daniel. I don’t think the VIP lot are gonna want to see you hungover.’

 

An unusual rage from Dan had Kyle genuinely afraid of his partner for the first time in his life as the older man slammed his hands against the wall on either side of Kyle, penning the younger man in. ‘Rather they see me hungover or drunk than  _dead_ , or for the  _MONSTER_   I _REALLY_ AM!’

 

Kyle could barely breathe as he felt Dan’s hot breath on his face, smelt the alcohol pour out of his mouth like fire from a dragon.

 

And then Dan broke down. He hung his head and just... cried. He all but collapsed forward into Kyle’s chest, hands moving from the wall to being wrapped around his lover, fingers desperately gripping Kyle’s hair.

 

‘Jesus, I- I’m so sorry, I- I just don’t want this double life anymore, Kyle,’ Dan sobbed, voice trembling as he spoke.

 

Kyle said nothing. He simply comforted his lover, rubbing his hand up and down Dan’sback. 

 

The only noise for several minutes was Dan’s sobbing, muffled by the fact his face was buried in Kyle’s chest.

 

‘It’s going to be ok,’ Kyle said. ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’


	13. Chapter 13

\- Columbus -

 

‘Fucking hell,’ groaned Dan as he rolled out of his bunk. ‘I feel like I’ve got an axe in my head.’

 

‘That  _would_   happen when one drinks as much as you did last night, dear,’ said Kyle as he hooked his arms around Dan’s shoulders. Kyle gave Dan a gentle kiss on the cheek before asking ‘How much do you remember?’

 

The look of sadness and guilt in Dan’s puppy-dog-eyes told Kyle all he needed to know. ‘I am so,  _so_ , fucking sorry,’ Dan replied quietly.

 

‘You are completely forgiven, ok? Please... Don’t beat yourself up too much... I love you.’

 

— — — — —

 

Dan was still off for some soundchecking that the rest of the band weren’t needed for. 

 

Kyle spied Dan’s phone on a table in the green room and saw a chance for... for something.

 

They’d been dating long enough that they could get into the others’ phone if they needed. Unfortunately for Kyle, this meant Face ID on Dan’s phone, which meant he always had to pull the same face to unlock the phone as he pulled when the ID photo was taken.

 

Kyle made sure he was in the green room alone before picking up Dan’s phone and pulling a sarcastic pout at the phone’s camera.

 

It took a few attempts to recognise Kyle, but it eventually unlocked.

 

‘Gotcha,’ he smiled. He assumed that Dan wouldn’t leave his super illegal assassin business out in the open, so he searched for where it could be.

 

Kyle found and opened the messaging app and was hit with an ‘Enter Passcode’ screen.

 

‘Ah, you bastard, ok,’ Kyle mumbled. He tried a few passcodes: Dan’s birth year, Dan’s birthday, Dan’s parents’ birthdays and birth years, then those in reverse.

 

Nothing.

 

Kyle hesitated before slowly keying in his own birthday. The first attempt didn’t work, but the reverse...

 

‘Oh fuck yeah, hacker man Kyle, watch out world. He should change that, my birthday’s on Google.’

 

It only took a few seconds for Kyle to find the contact that was obviously that of the man who had Dan under his thumb.

 

Then Kyle did something stupid.

 

‘ _Need to talk. Face to face. I get into Detroit tomorrow. Meet me outside the Masonic Temple Theatre, 4pm.’_

 

He hit send then stared at the three dots that indicated a reply being formed.

 

_‘You’re a brave man, just asking like that. Lucky for you I’m not busy.’_

 

Kyle sighed slightly before closing the app and locking the phone.

 

‘Well. Shit, ok,’ he said aloud to himself.

 

— — — — —

 

The time of the meeting rolled around and Kyle was full of false bravado. It was busy enough that Kyle knew the other man wouldn’t cause a scene.

 

‘Oi,’ Kyle called to the mobster when he saw him.

 

The mobster looked at Kyle, and a moment of confusion passed over his face before he scoffed. ‘You, of course. Smith wouldn’t speak so casually to me.’

 

‘Are you disappointed?’

 

‘In his choice of partner, yes,’ laughed the mobster. ‘He coulda chosen any guy or girl in the world and he choses the scruffy, skinny dude he plays in a band with. Your cock must be amazing for him to stay with you so long.’

 

Kyle felt his face flush. ‘My dick has nothing to do with our meeting!’ He took a couple of steps towards the other man. ‘Dan’s paid his dues. Let him go.’

 

‘He wouldn’t dare defy me.’

 

‘Or what? You kill him? I thought you didn’t want high profile deaths or whatever.’

 

A moment of silence passed. ‘Who said I would punish him with death?’

 

The mobster pushed Kyle backwards and Kyle stumbled back a few feet.Before he could react, he felt four hands grabbing him from behind and pulled him further back.

 

‘You were naïve to meet me,’ continued the mobster as Kyle felt himself dragged into a van that was parked on the street, a van he hadn’t noticed before in his tunnel vision on the other man.

 

‘Hey, what the fuck?’ Kyle managed to pull himself free but the door of the van slammed shut before he could slip out.

 

Kyle was grabbed again but didn’t have a chance to fight back as the two men in the van with him yanked his arms behind him and secured a zip-tie around his wrists.

 

‘You’re a fucking coward, you know th-!‘ Kyle cried out before being cut off by the cloth that was stuffed into his mouth and firmly knotted in place.

 

One of the men pushed Kyle against the side of the van, winding him. Kyle slid until he was sat down, and he stared at the floor of the van, shaking. He avoided the gaze of his captors as he felt the road go by beneath him, headed to some unknown destination.


	14. Chapter 14

‘You seen Kyle anywhere?’ Dan asked his band members as he intruded on them in their hotel room.

 

‘He went to meet with someone a couple hours ago,’ replied Woody, not looking up with his phone. 

 

‘Did he say who?’

 

Woody shrugged. ‘Not really. He just said it was a mutual friend of yours and his. Dude, relax, he’s not gonna cheat on you.’

 

Dan sighed. ‘Alright. Thanks.’ He walked out the room and back towards his. 

 

‘Kyle, where are you? Woods said you were meeting someone. Need to talk about smth, yknow. Call me x’

 

Dan hit send on the text and slipped his phone back into his pocket before getting back to his hotel room and flopping onto the bed.

 

— — — — —

 

Kyle didn’t have a clue where he was, nor for how long they’d been travelling before the van rolled to a stop. He was almost blinded by the light outside when the van door slid open.

 

His new “friends”, who he’d nicknamed Bill and Ben since he knew no better, all but shoved Kyle from the van. He only had a few seconds to look around before he was pushed about again, guided around the back of a two-story office building and then inside.

 

The lack of windows on the second floor of the building didn’t give Kyle much hope for himself. He was shaking worse than before.

 

When his guards guided him into one of the offices, Kyle hesitated in the doorway when he saw the room was empty, save for a single chair and the mobster from before. Kyle shot a death glare at the other man and tried to scowl through his gag, but the other man just laughed. ‘You’re not scaring anyone while you’re shaking like a leaf. Sit down.’

 

Kyle didn’t feel like facing the full wrath of the gangster yet, so he did as commanded. With a single grunt from their superior, Kyle’s guard outfit produced more zip-ties and tied his legs to the chair legs before leaving the room.

 

The gangster shut the door before his men and then knelt in front of Kyle. ‘Now then. You play nicely, and Smith gets you back in one piece.’

 

Kyle phone buzzed in his pocket, startling Kyle a little. The other man smirked slightly before retrieving Kyle’s phone, the Brit giving muffled protests as he did so.

 

‘Awh, your boyfriend’s worried.’

 

Kyle froze. 

 

‘You wanna give him a call, hmm?’

 

The mobster pulled a knife from a pocket and unfolded it, and Kyle’s fear skyrocketed. His pulse calmed again when he felt his gag cut off and he spat it out in disdain.

 

‘Ugh, fucking hell. My mouth hasn’t been this dry since I got fillings,’ Kyle moaned. His quip had a 0% success rate with his audience.

 

— — — — —

 

Dan sat up when his phone rang. Seeing Kyle’s contact on the screen, he answered immediately.

 

‘Kyle?’

 

‘Hey.’

 

‘Sorry, I know you’re in the middle of something. I’m just anxious, y’know? Well, really anxious. You know why. Are you coming back soon? ‘Cause I could... use a hug.’

 

‘I, uhh... I dunno. Sorry.’

 

‘Who are you meeting anyway? I can’t think of anyone we know here,’ Dan continued.

 

‘Just... someone. I don’t know if I’ll make it back tonight, Dan.’

 

Dan bit his lip. ‘Kyle... seriously, who are you seeing? ‘Cause it really doesn’t sound great right now, you know...’

 

‘Dan, it’s not what you think, I’m just-‘

 

An unfortunately familiar, haunting voice cut Kyle off. ‘He’s just a little bit tied up at the minute, Smith.’

 

The other phone hung up and Dan’s heart was racing. He desperately tried to call back to no avail. Frustrated, he called the phone of the man he hated the most.

 

‘What the fuck have you done to Kyle?!’

 

‘He came to me, Smith,’ said the other man calmly.

 

‘If you hurt a hair on his god damn head-‘

 

‘Listen, Smith. Quit after this job, I don’t give a shit. But tonight, I will see a murder on the news, and if it’s not my man, it’s gonna be yours.’


	15. Chapter 15

Dan downed his whiskey in record breaking fashion, grimacing as he swallowed the last drop.

 

In his pocket, he had a notebook. In this notebook, he had written notes about his targets and their whereabouts in the days leading up to their deaths. This time was no different. Despite Dan’s apprehension, which was present even before Kyle’s kidnapping, he still had gone through the motions and knew where his target would be.

 

His target was a moderately well known businessman - not important enough to breach the ‘no mainstream figures’ rule, but prominent enough to ruin Dan’s client’s plans.

 

‘And when we’re done...’ he mumbled to himself. ‘... I’m taking Kyle to whatever restaurant he wants... and treating him like the prince he is...’ He gritted his teeth, resisting the overwhelming urge to break down.

 

The tired assassin stood across from the bar. It was an upscale, overly-fancy place. Dan had ditched his cap and donned a suit jacket he borrowed from Charlie. He didn’t have any plain t-shirts, so he wore one back-to-front and hoped nobody would notice.

 

Poison wasn’t his favourite method of doing things. It was slow and drew attention and sometimes failed. It was also the only thing Dan was able to get into the bar, with no weapons or drugs allowed. The plus side was that the pellets he used were easy enough to conceal: he had a handful of poison pellets in a small baggie and then attached the baggie to the inside of his boxers with a safety pin. Dan  really hoped he didn’t look like he had a erection. 

 

— — — — —

 

Kyle was completely drained, despite having not gone anywhere in a few hours. Save for the guard at his door, he was alone. A radio in the corner of the room was tuned to pick up the police radio communications, and Kyle was forced to listen and wait and hope that Dan had done the unfortunate deed.

 

His head hung low as he listened to the goings on in the office around him. Sometimes there was sobbing, screaming. Sometimes there was shouting, roars of anger. Sometimes there was his own voice, muttering in hushed tones as he prayed for his other half to stay safe.

 

Kyle tried to adjust his position, his shoulders sore, his fingers beginning to lose feeling from the slightly too tight bindings.

 

He cleared his throat. ‘Hey, uh, excuse me? Can you sort of... loosen these ties? I’m worried my hands will drop off,’ he asked his guard cautiously.

 

The American looked at the Brit before standing to his full height, towering above the captive Kyle.

 

Kyle tensed when the other man pulled out a knife, but eased himself somewhat when the guard cut the ties around his wrists. Kyle rubbed his wrists and hands, alleviating the tingling from his fingers.

 

Freedom didn’t last long as Kyle found his guard grappling both his wrists with a single hand, and tightening a new set of ties over them with the other, thankfully looser but still inescapable. 

 

‘Thanks, I think,’ Kyle frowned.

 

The guard grunted. ‘I didn’t see any problem granting a small request to a dead man.’

 

Kyle was taken aback for a second. ‘The fuck you mean, a dead man?’

 

No reply came as the guard returned to his seat, and Kyle was left alone to his thoughts again, only wishing that Dan came out the other side, even if he himself didn’t.


	16. Chapter 16

Dan got into the bar without a hitch. He went to the bathrooms and unpinned the poison pellets from their hiding place and slipped them down his sleeve.

 

The Brit stood in the corner of the room, wine in one hand as he watched his target carefully.

 

The American ordered another drink, and took a sip as he stood at the bar. The drink was set down and the businessman turned to talk to an associate.

 

At this point, Dan was at the bar, stood next to his target. He went through the movements like they were second nature. Dan ordered the same drink as his target, paid in cash, no credit card trail.

 

Dan accepted the drink cheerfully. He took a sip, even though he was far from fond of what it was. Dan fiddled with the rim of his glass as he waited for his change. The pellets were dropped in and dissolved quickly, one by one by one. Nobody saw. 

 

Having received his change, he faked one of the coins slipping from his hand. He grabbed his target’s glass instead of his own when he stood up again, and walked away.

 

It was a plan he had pulled off before. The drink left at the bar would be drank by the unsuspecting American, and organ failure would swiftly follow.

 

Dan watched his target from a distance once more. The businessman laughed with his associates before taking drinking a decent amount of the poison left by the assassin. Dan watched for a few minutes more before he saw the poison begin to take hold. Satisfied, he left the bar and walked into the city once more.

 

The fake smile and costume of cheeriness had long since faded from Dan and he made a phone call.

 

‘The target is going to be drowning in his own blood right now. I want Kyle back in one goddamn piece.’

 

Dan hung up before the mobster even had a chance to reply. He gritted his teeth and kept walking as his eyes welled with tears, and his worry for Kyle overtook him once more.


	17. Chapter 17

Kyle had long since tuned out the sound of the radio. It was just depressing him, to be honest.

 

He found himself drifting off to sleep, for lack of anything to keep him occupied, when he found himself being manhandled once more.

 

‘H-hey! Be careful...!’ he exclaimed as the ties were cut from his ankles, the knife blade nicking his left ankle.

 

Getting pushed and pulled out of the door made Kyle’s fear shoot up. He made peace with the fact he was going to die when he was pushed into the van again.

 

— — — — —

 

Dan stood outside his hotel, hands in pockets. He waited.

 

The Brit didn’t react when the black van pulled up on the curb in front of him. The door slid open and Kyle was pushed out unceremoniously before the van sped off again.

 

Kyle, knelt on the floor, slowly and carefully opened one eye.

 

‘Oi, you’re alright,’ said Dan. He couldn’t hold himself back anymore and pulled Kyle up into a bear hug. ‘Holy fuck...’

 

‘D.. Dan?’

 

‘Hey,’ replied Dan before kissing his partner on the cheek. ‘You’re not dying today.’

 

‘Dunno, you might smother me to death... Now please...’ Kyle pried himself free, ‘can you cut me free or something? I need to piss real bad.’

 

‘Romantic as ever...’ mumbled Dan as he retrieved his pocket knife and carefully cut Kyle’s wrists free. ‘C’mon. Hotel room. Go take a piss then you can tell me what happened.’

 

— — — — —

 

They spent the night tangled up in each other. They avoided talking about the past day too much, beyond Dan cleaning up Kyle’s cut and Kyle insisting he didn’t need Dan’s help.

 

‘So... you’re done?’ Kyle asked quietly.

 

‘... Yeah.’ Dan replied, his head rested on Kyle’s bare chest. ‘I got you back and I blocked all those contacts and deleted everything when you were in the bathroom.’

 

‘I was... I accepted that I was gonna die, you know.’

 

Dan take a few seconds before he replied. He listened to Kyle’s breathing and heartbeat as he thought about what to say. ‘Kyle... I would do anything, and I mean anything, to keep you safe.’ He buried his face in Kyle’s shoulder. ‘I am... so, _so_ sorry you got caught up in this.’

 

‘I’m not sure many people can say their partner has killed for them,’ Kyle laughed gently. 

 

The silence ticked away comfortably, broken minutes later by Kyle’s quiet snoring as the pair fell soundly asleep, fingers intertwined, each comforted by the others’ heat.


End file.
